Method of and apparatus for tempering air



Nov. 21, 1933. J. F. HOFFMAN METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING AIR Filed April 23, 1930 2 sheets-sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

Nov. 21,v 1933. J. F. HOFFMAN METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR TEMPERING AIR Filed April 23, 1930 2 Sheets-Shelet 2 I N VEN TOR. Joh/7 ///affM/z ATTORNEY.

ipatenteti Nov., 2l, i933 corporation oler, for example one-third of the upper rtion thereof, must 1ce reserved to hold a suie :delent quantity of ice to cool the box. The meltL1 ing oi the ice causes cold air to :move downwardly throughout the box and warm air therefore rises to melt the ice. A materially larger housing is therefore required than necessary for contat@ ing the commodities to ce cooled and excessive labor and frequent opening of the box are in= volved in supplying the housing bunker with ice. l

The water resulting from melting of the ice must he disposed ci whereby an inordinate en tent of relatively non-conductive supporting members or bunker floors is interposed between the cooling medium and commodities in the box.

It is apparent also that maximum cooling etl iect is only aorded when the bunkers are well supplied with ice. When coils supplied with a refrigerant are substituted for the ice, the pines become covered with frost, and eiiiciency is reduced, and must be defrosted, thus involving opening ci the box and Warming up of the con= tents.

The principal objects of my invention there@ fore are to provide a method of refrigerating a space whereby the requirement of ice containing bunkers and similar oulliy reirigerating means may be done away with, to supply the humidity`s ing effect o ice refrigeration 'oy the means em ployed for effecting refrigeration. to avoid the accumulation of frost on the refrigerating means whereby :frequent treatment is required for removing irost, and to provide for automatic oner-a ation andcontrol of refrigerating elements.

In accomplishing these and other objects oi my invention, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms ci which are 'illustrated in the acconspanyingv drawings,

' lasen Referring in fi to the dran-tinge:

'l designates one ci the side Walls ci a housing including opposite vertical `walls 2 and 3 and ton and bottom Walls Ll and. 5, representing, ior ex-n ample, a neat cooler to which access may loe had through a doos', not shown. y

in ordinaiy practice, the space in the cooler is occupied partly by perislialoles, lout a substantial -voortion at the upper end is regained ici' storing' ice, or for reirigerating pipes, ior cooling the joel-$1 ishaloles. i l

in my improved inethod oi refrigeration, provide a tanica at one end of the chamber ad-z jacent the end Wall 2 ci" the housing including a loottom vvall 7, the tank seing reinforced and sunn1 ported loy a relatively thick wall il, the vertical end edges of the tank engaging the front and backside walls of the housing, and the upper edge being spaced from the top of the housing.

The tank is adaptedto contain a liquid such as brine susceptible to cooling to va relatively low temperature Without ieeeaing, and reii'igeratiin; coils 9 are arranged adjacent the walls ci the tank, which may he supplied with a refrigerant to cool the lorine and maintain the saine in cold condition.

The coils are preferably arranged in vertical planes spaced series to provide a passage there between for vertical spaced branches or runs lil and ll of an endless belt anchored and movable on a roller l2 having a shaft 13 rotatably mounted in journal brackets le fined to the floor of the tank and housing, and rollers l5 and lo rotatable in journals i7 and lil respectively on a bracket 19 ixed to the wall 3, and a roller 20 supported by a loracliet 2l from the Wall 2.

The rollers i5 and lo supported by the single bracket above the tanl cause the 'neit to move downwardly and upwardly over the lower roller in vertical paths, and the single roller at the opposite end of the housing is supported on bearings located in a plane between the planes of the yhearings of the pair of rollers, whereby the unpeis horizontal run 22 of the heit may move close to the top ci the housing, and the lower rim 23 will move across the housing and throughout suh-2 stantially the entire length of? the same.l

The belt is caused to move preferably hy proa viding a pulley 2a on the roller shaft of the single roller; mounting a motor 25 on a sheliP fixed to the wall 3 of the housingrand running a loelt 27 from the :motor shaft pulley 28 to the roller nulley; 1 1

The motor may he controlled ley a thermostati cally operating device mounted-*on the Wall oi the ico lil@

housing including a switch box 29 from which conductors 30 and 31 lead to the motor, whereby changes of temperature in the chamber may effect operation of or suspension of operation of the motor.

In order to remove excess moisture picked up by the belt while the same is passing through the tank, I may provide a roller 32 mounted in fixed position adjacent one face of the vertical branch l0 of the belt and a roller 33 engaging the opposite face of the belt, the rollers being supported by suitable brackets such as end plates 34 and blocks 35 slidable in slots 36 in the plates supporting the roller 33 whereby the pressure of the rollers may be adjusted. a

In the modified mode of employing the method shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the liquid containing refrigerating tank comprises a case including a rear wall 37 having an opening 38 adjacent its upper end and provided with a chute-like air inlet 39 and a front wall 40 provided with a spout-like neck or extension 4l communicating with the tank above the coils and level of water in which the coils are immersed, having a laterally directed mouth 42, the tank being closed by a top 43.

The tank is relatively wide, having preferably substantially the same width as the space to be cooled, whereby a sheet or stream of air passing from the spout may have the same width as the space.

A bracket 44 supports a motor 45 adjacent the opening and operates a fan 46 therein for blowing air through the tank and expelling the same through the spout.

In this form of the apparatus for employing the method, two or more sets of belts 47 and 48 may be employed running on rollers 49-50 and 51--52 respectively, at the upper and lower ends of the tank, in the path of the current of air moving through the same, and the belt preferably comprises relatively slender flexible members 53 such as cords or the like, among which the air may move relatively freely to pick up cold therefrom.

In this form of apparatus, one set of rollers may be operated from the other by means of a belt 54 running on pulleys 55 within the tank at the ends of roller shafts 56 mounted in walls of the tank, and one of the rollers may be rotated through a flexible shaft 57 actuated by the motor.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. l, the belt moving downwardly then upwardly through the refrigerated liquid is cooled thereby, and preferably is moved downwardly over the outer coil and ,upwardly over the inner coil, whereby the laterally moving lower horizontal run of the belt presents its surface downwardly to the chamber to exchange heat with the air therein and the warmer upper horizontal run or branch of the belt moves retractively adjacent the relatively warm top of the housing back to the refrigerating tank. The warm air in the chamber will rise into contact with the belt and being cooled thereby will then tend to fall and move through the chamber.

Circulation of air in vertical paths will thus be set up, and when the belt has substantially the same width as the chamber there will be vertical currents of air-moving constantly throughout the entire space of the chamber.

Not only will the contents of the chamber thus be effectually cooled but modification of humidity will also be effected since moisture will be taken up by the moving belt due to condensation of vaporscontacting the cold surfaces of the belt, and the moisture will be carried back to the tank. The character of liquid in the tank modified by such-collected moisturemay be adjusted to maintain its desired function.

In employing the form of apparatus illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the case may be located in any desired and suitable relation with a space to be cooled, for example, within a meat cooler. The refrigerating coils being supplied with a. refrigerant and liquid being provided in the tank to cover the coils, when the rollers are set in motion to move the belts and the fan is operated, air will be drawn by the fan lthrough the opening and moved through the tank over the belts and discharged through the spout.

The air will exchange heat with the belts and the air thus refrigerated will move throughout the chamber to set up circulation therein.

The tank illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 may extend substantially to the top of the chamber .when a housing such as a meat cooler illustrated in Fig. 1, is to be cooled, whereby a relatively wide stream of air will be impelled across the top por-l tion of the chamber to the opposite Wall, thus forming a cold blanket against which the rising warmer air in the chamber will impinge to be cooled and set up vertically moving currents of air in the chamber.

The moving stream of impelled air may implnge the opposite wall and move downwardly therealong and be diverted outwardly therefrom to set up incidental currents of relatively cool air in the space occupied by the perishables.

The fan, both by suction and by the effect of driving air through the chamber, will tend to draw. air from the chamber so that the air will be thoroughly circulated.

It is apparent that the inlet neck may communicate with outside atmosphere. that the side mouth 42 of the tank may be located to deliver a stream of cold air to a space to be cooled, and that the space may or may not have an outlet, according to the particular requirements of' refrigeration of the space to be cooled.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of tempering air of a compartment consisting of passing a tempering member through the compartment, and controlling movement of the tempering member according to the temperature to be maintained in the compartment. A

2. A method of tempering air consisting of passing a cold transferring member alternately through a cooling medium and through an area to be cooled, and controlling movement of said cold transferring member according to the temperature to be maintained in said area.

3. The method of tempering air including movhorizontally across the top portion of the compartment and vertically across one end of the compartment, and cooling the belt while the same is moving vertically.

5. The method of tempering air including moving a belt in a path adjacent a horizontal wall of a compartment, and applying a tempering influence to the belt adjacent one end of the path for tempering layers of air adjacent the belt to effect vertical circulation of air in the compartment.

6. A method of tempering air to eiIect vertical circulation of air in a closed compartment including effecting movement oi e cooled tempering member horizontally across the compartment in e. path parallel with and closely adjacent to the ton wall of the compartment i'or cooling relatively warm air rising in the compartment to set up vertical circulation ci air in the compartment, and

controlling movement of said tempering member according to the temperature to be intained in the compartment.

il'. Apparatus for tempering sir in e clccecicom1 vpertinent including a, member movnbie in e liori zontel path adjacent o, horizontal well oi' the compartment, and means for tempering the ineinber to temper air contacting said member ior setting un vertical circulation oi nir in the comfoertment.

e. Apparatus 'for tempering oir in n ccinintrte ment including an endless belt moving in e tid including e. horizontal portion adjacent the ton well ci the compartment and e vertical on adjacent one end of the compartment, and means adjacent the vertical portion ci said path for cooling the belt.

9. Apparatus for tempering nir in e comportinent including a, liquid containing tank et one end ci the compartment, horizontally spaced rollers at opposite ends oi the compartment eri-- iecent the top thereof, e, roller mounted in the tank, en endlose ieelt supported by seid rollers to iorm horizontal ediecent the top oi the comment end verticel rune moving in liquid in the tnnk, ineens for moving the belt, and means for cooling' liquid in tite tenir.

lo. Apparatus for tempering air in a, closed comment including e, belt movable in e lacrinontni detti ocross the comnertrnent, ineens for tempo the loelt Sor exchanging lient with eil: in the compartment to eet up vertical circulation ci oir in the compartment, ineens for driving the teelt, and means responsive to changes o tempeinture in the compartment for controlling the sd the driving ineens.

Omit F. HOFFMAN. 

